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Roman Centurion
"The Centurion is cutting edge because it is one of the first times in history that a man could make his living entirely by warfare and killing." - Terence Rotolo The Roman Centurion, killer commander whose brutal assaults led Rome to conquer the world; vs. the Rajput Warrior, India's menacing martial arts master, who defeated enemies with a diabolical arsenal designed to kill. Stats *Year - 120 AD *Height - 5' 8" *Weight - 170 lbs **Gear - 20 lb *Armor - Chain mail Symbol - Roman Helmet Weapons Deadliest Warrior: The Game *Close Range: Gladius, Spatha, Sica *Mid-Range: Lancea, Hasta, Trident *Long-Ranged: Pilum, Plumbata, Gastaphetes *Special Weapons: Falx *Armor: Lorica Segmentata, Lorica Hamata *Finisher: The Centurion slashes into the victim's back with his falx, tossing his shield aside. He then follows up with four more slashes into the victim's head and chest, before stabbing into their neck and raising his arms in victory. Armor In Deadliest Warrior, the Roman Centurion wore a Gallic helmet and lorica hamata (mail armor), though in several clips, the Centurion was shown wearing the more well-known lorica segmenta (armor consisting of segmented plates), and greaves. Lorica Segmentata was introduced as late as the mid 1st century and was so expensive that it was only used on massive scales during the peak of the Roman Empire; even then it was uncommon. The Roman soldiers have also been known to wear the Bronze Cuirass. The Gallic helmet covered the top of the head and had hinged cheekplates and a sloping neck guard. The Centurion also carried the large Scutum shield. Because the Roman army had no standardized armor and permitted its soldiers to use any armor provided it remained serviceable, it was not uncommon for a legion to have a mixture of different armor styles.﻿ History In 800 BC, the two dominant civilizations in Italy were the Etruscans (primarily in the north-west cost and Venice) and the Greek colony Magna Graecia (in the south and Sicily). Both civilizations would later be merged togather under Ancient Rome. In 753 BCE; Rome began as a citystate monarchy within the Etruscan Civilization (with the founders Romulus and Remus originating from the southern Latin tribe). According to the legend of King Romulus; King Amulius (due to a prophecy) attempted to kill the twin brothers Romulus and Remus (decedents of the Trojan royal Aeneas), but the boys escaped into the wild and were raised by wolves before being old enough to form the city. Romulus killed Remus after a series of disputes over the official borders and which hills to use for the setting of their city. The city of Rome grew when Romulus promised refuge for outcasts, runaways, minorities and criminals from other kingdoms. Romulus invited the Sabines chieftains to a feast, only to intentionally intoxicate them. Romulus knew that Rome had a dangerously low population, and so ordered the mass abduction of Sabine women. The Rape of the Sabine Women led to war with the Sabines, but according to legend, the kidnapped women rushed onto the battlefield and begged for peace. The Sabines agreed to the peace and merged with Rome into one unified kingdom. Rome was initially a monarchy; but the last king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was overthrown by a revolt in 509 BC, causing Romans to demand the new state to be a Republic. Lucius' son Sextus Tarquinius raped Lucretia: the wife of the nobleman Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus. Lucretia's suicide in the aftermath of the rape caused Lucius to use his political power to launch a revolt: forming the Roman Republic. One of the earliest major wars in Roman history was the Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC). King Pyrrhus of Epirus led an alliance of Greek city-states against the Romans in an attempt to conquer and colonize Sicily and southern Italy. Pyrrhus led several victories against the Romans initially, especially thanks to his War Elephants. However despite being victories, the casualties of these battles weakened the Greek army significantly: leading to the term 'Pyrrhic victory'. The Roman Army recovered from their losses; allowing the Romans to eventually overpower King Pyrrhus. By 264 BC, Rome conquered all of modernday Italy (excluding northern territory owned by the Gauls) thanks to a combination of military conquests and diplomatic alliances. The rise of the Roman Republic threatened the Carthaginian Empire; leading to the Punic Wars in 264-241 BC, 218-201 BC (a war known for the military successes by Hannibal), and 149-146 BC. Roman eastward expansion also led to the Macedonian Wars: where Rome (and its allies) launched 4 separate wars against the Macedonians in (214–148 BC), with Rome extending to the Achaean League in the Achaean War of 146 BC. It was during these wars that Rome experienced an exchange of culture from their new Greek territories; creating the Greco-Roman cultural mix within the Empire. The complete conquest of Greece would end at 31 BC. The year of 146 BC was seen as the beginning of Roman dominance of the Mediterranean Sea; as in that year, both the cities of Carthage and Corinth burned so that Rome would have no rival cities. The general Gaius Julius Caesar conquered Gaul in a campaign lasting 59-55 BC. Caesar used his army to overthrow the Roman Republic in a military coup and civil war lasting 49-45 BC. However despite gaining his power, and successfully allying himself with the Ptolemaic Pharaoh Cleopatra, he was assassinated only one year later in 44 BC by conspirators lead by his former friend Brutus. This lead the nation into another civil war. Augustus Caesar (Julius' adoptive son) emerged from the chaos and became the first Roman Emperor from 16th January, 27 BC – 19th August, 14 AD (40 years). He did this by defeating his rivals Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium on 2 September 31 BC: with eventually led to both Antony and Cleopatra committing suicide in August of 30 BC. The reign of the Julio-Claudian dynasty was seen as the beginning of the Roman Golden-Age called the Pax Romana: which saw little war or conflict for the Romans. Despite being a period of peace; this era was infamous for the reigns of Caligula (18 March 37 AD – 24 January 41 AD) and Nero (13 October 54 AD – 9 June 68 AD) as these two are still remembered today to be insane and evil tyrants. The suicide of Nero ended the Julio-Claudian dynasty, but the Pax Romana continued under the Nerva–Antonine dynasty until the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD. The 1st century of Rome saw an increase of migration and foreigners entering Rome; making Rome multi-ethnic and introducing a variety of cultures into the Empire. The execution of Jesus Christ in 33 CE led to the rise of Christianity (further spread by the first Pope and Jesus' disciple: Saint Peter), becoming one of the largest religions in the world today. Romans initially persecuted the rise of Christianity and executed the clerics (including Saint Peter in the 60s AD.), but their acts of repression only created more martyrs that the Christians worshiped and honored. The Battle of Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312 AD. had Emperor Constantine I order his soldiers to put the mark of Christ on their shields. Constantine saw the resulting victory of the battle as divine intervention and began decriminalizing Christianity and became the first Christian Emperor when he converted hours before his death on May 22, 337 AD. The 3rd Century was seen as the beginning of the collapse of Rome: as political assassinations, and the short reigns and frequent replacement of emperors, weakened political control. The Roman Army was reduced to being mostly mercenaries; which gave rich generals too much power. The Empire's territory began to shrink as a result. In 285-286 AD; Maximian and Diocletian split the Empire into the Western and Eastern Roman Empire. The political capital of Rome was replaced by the Greek city Byzantium, which was later called Constantinople in 330 CE when Constantine I officially moved the capital city. The 5th Century saw Western Rome face multiple raids and invasions from barbarians; the most noticeable being led by Attila the Hun. Rome itself would be sacked multiple times in this century by various barbarian kingdoms. Romulus Augustulus is considered to be the last Western Roman Emperor, and his failure at The Battle of Ravenna (476) is considered the end of the Classical Period and the start of Medieval Europe. The Ostrogoths would rule Italy as a kingdom under Flavius Odoacer. Byzantine Emperor Justinian I considered himself to be the new Roman Emperor and temporarily reconquered Italy thanks to his general Belisarius. Between 537 AD - 752 AD: the Roman Catholic Pope was considered to be a puppet of the Byzantine Papacy. Most of Italy was temporarily reconquered by the Ostrogoths (led by Totila) when Byzantine Italy fragmented due to the political chaos resulting from the Justinian Plague. The Byzantine generals that controlled Italy ruled their cities with corruption, neglect and high taxes: with many cities defecting to the Ostrogoth invaders or the generals too corrupt to use their high taxes to build up a large army to defend themselves. Even Belisarius was unable to reconquer Italy and forced to return home to fight in the Roman–Persian Wars. However as the Byzantines recovered from the Plague they reconquered Italy thanks to better logistics and the general Narses; winning the nation back at The Battle of the Volturnus (554). Rome and the northern half of Italy would continue as the Kingdom of Italy: which was frequently influenced by foreign powers (primarily the Holy Roman Empire). Italy spent the majority of the Medieval Ages and Renaissance fragmented into various city-states. The city of Rome was still considered a political superpower due to being the home of the Pope and thus Roman Catholicism; the dominant religion of Europe throughout the Medieval age. Despite this fragmentation; Italy was viewed as the beginning of a cultural goldenage known as the Renaissance; which arguably lasted between 1300-1600 (in Italy specifically; the rest of Europe would experience the Renaissance starting in the late 1400s). This was a time when Italians looked back to the classical period of the Greek and Roman Empires; rediscovering and reintroducing the philosophies and cultures of the past (dubbed Neoclassicism). Some historians cite the Fall of Constantinople (29 May 1453) as a major factor in introducing Greek culture westward; as the Byzantines who fled the Ottoman invaders moved to Italy. Napoelon's conquest of northern Italy introduced French liberalism to the Italians. This Kingdom of Italy lasted only 1805–1814; however it was more popular among Italians than the prior Papal States: which were considered to be a puppet government of foreign powers (including the Austrian Empire). On 1871 the Modern Kingdom of Italy unified all Italian city-states under one nation. During the Scramble for Africa; Italy colonized Lybia (in 1911) and East Africa (in 1890). The Italian Empire was unable to compete with the other Empires of Europe. In 1895-1896 Italy was the only European power to lose to an African state (during the 1800s) in The First Italo-Ethiopian War. Benito Mussolini rose to power in 31 October 1922 and made Italy the first Fascist nation. He used his dictatorial power to attempt to rebuild Rome as the Italian Empire. The most noticeable territorial gain was in 1939 with the Second Italo-Ethiopian War having Italy return and annex Ethiopia. This is arguably not considered a colony as Italy quickly lost control over its entire Empire when it joined Nazi Germany in WWII. Italy lacked the organization and modernization to achieve any significant long-term goals and was unable to stop the Invasion of Sicily on the night of 9/10 July 1943. After that defeat, the Allied Powers would lead a successful Italian Front that dissolved the Fascist government. On 28 April 1945, Mussolini was executed in Giulino and his corpse hanging in the Piazzale Loreto of Milan. The Italian Republic is seen as a Middle Power in Europe today. It is currently part of NATO and the EU, military and trade organizations that are considered to be the defacto modern day Roman Empire. Centurions The Centurion was an officer in the Ancient Roman army. They were often selected for their skill and valor in battle. Centurions led their troops from the front lines, leading and inspiring their men by example. They also sought to display the skill and courage which may have got them their rank in the first place. However, because of their presence on the frontlines, they suffered a disproportionate number of causalites in battle when compared to their subordinates. Legions had about 5000 men, divided into Cohorts of 500 men each, made of Centuries of 80-100 men each. The Aquilifer (similar to a Flag Bearer) leads each Legion with a staff containing an eagle ontop. Simulated Battle The battle starts with a Rajput Warrior walking through a forest, investigating a clicking noise being made in the distance. As it turns out, the clicking noise is coming from the Roman Centurion cranking the lever on his Scorpion Crossbow. As the Rajput warrior gets closer and closer, the Roman Centurion loads a bolt into the Scorpion. The Rajput pokes his head from behind a tree and spots the Centurion. The Centurion fires his Scorpion, but the bolt misses the Rajput completely. He then pulls out his Pilum Javelin and charges at the Rajput, causing him to flee. The Centurion makes his way to a more open area, only to be met with one of the Rajput's Chakram discs. The Centurion blocks the Chakram with his shield, and then throws his Pilum. The Rajput, however, pulls out his Khanda sword and slices the Javelin in two. The two warriors glare at each other, waiting for the other to make his move. The Rajput pulls out his Aara sword and whips it around. The Roman Centurion then takes his Dolabra and charges at the Rajput. The Rajput jumps back and tries to strike with his Aara, but the Centurion blocks with his shield. The Centurion lunges at the Rajput and swings his Dolabra, but the Rajput jumps out of the way. He then swings his Aara and coils it around the Centurion's leg. The Centurion completely falls over, but is able to save himself from the Rajput by kicking a log at the Rajput and tripping him. The Centurion gets up with his Dolabra at hand and sees that the Rajput has also gotten up and pulled out his Khanda sword again. The Centurion swings at the Rajput, who moves back to avoid it. However, in doing so, he backs up and falls onto a giant log. The Centurion tries to take advantage and swing at the Rajput, but the Rajput rolls out of the way and causes the Dolabra to get stuck in the log. The Rajput then swings his sword and cuts the head of the Dolabra off from the handle. He prepares to swing at the Centurion, but the loss of the Dolabra's head allows the Centurion to swing the broken handle fast enough to hit the Rajput and knock him over. The Centurion pulls out his Gladius sword and begins swinging wildly at the Rajput, eventually knocking the Khanda out of his hands. He slashes the Rajput's face and forces him to the ground. He raises his sword and prepares to finish him off, but the Rajput puts on his Katar and stabs the Centurion in the stomach. The Centurion falls in pain, then looks up. The image of the Rajput weilding his Khanda is the last thing the Centurion sees before the Khanda slams into his face and kills him. The Rajput then pumps his fists in the air and yells in victory. Expert's Opinion While the Centurion was a more professional soldier, hardened by his intense training alone, he was meant to fight in large battles with the rest of his Legion, not in single combat. The Rajput on the other hand, was just as effective in either situation. The Rajput also had more versatile and powerful weaponry, combined with years or even decades of martial arts training. In the end the it was the Rajput's superior training and skills in single combat that won him the match. Trivia *The Romans were enemies of many Celtic tribes and barbarians. However, they allied or invited barbarians into their armies as Auxilia at times. Near the end of the Roman Empire, the legion was mostly comprised of barbarian Foederati and using more barbaric style shields, armor and weapons from barbarian culture, so much so that the Roman people just called their army “the barbarians” to save time. **In the Eastern Roman Empire, their was an elite unit of the army called the Varangian Guard which was composed of Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. *The Axis leaders Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler compared their empires with that of the Roman Empire. The infamous fascist salute originated from the Roman salute. **The Roman salute and other Roman gestures also led to or spawned the 'hello' and 'stop' hand signs. *According to some legends, the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were decended from the greek demi-god hero Hercules. *After Greece was conqured, the Romans invested heavily in rebuilding the majore city-states. Athens, Sparta and Thebes would become very promenint cities in the Roman Republic/Empire. *Ancient Roman civilians were much cleaner than people of the medieval age. Not only did Roman technology (like toilets, aqueducts and sewage systems) became lost after the fall of the empire, but early Catholicism was so fearful of sexual sins that people normally bathed clothed, if they even had access to fresh water. Many nobles in medieval times used makeup and perfume instead and rarely bathed. The instructions to make Roman Concrete was lost during the Fall of Rome. This is why the Medieval period returned to using stone for their construction until the 1300s. *In Ancient Rome there was an elite military unit known as the Equestrian order, or Equites. The Equestrian's were comprised of lesser nobility and had roughly the same place in Roman society as Samurai did in feudal Japan or Knights did in medieval Europe, in fact some believe that Knights were based of the Equestrian's. *Romans soldiers owned their shields. For most of Rome; anyone who wanted to enlist into the Roman army had to buy their weapons and armor. This actually caused recessions at times when the profits of being a soldier could not cover the costs of it: causing the veterans to go into poverty. *In Ancient Rome there was an elit unit of the army known as the Praetorian Guard. During the Republic the Praetorians served as bodyguards for high-ranking officials such as high-ranking generals, senators or provincial governors. During the Empire the Praetorians served as escorts for the emperor and were also special forces. **In a manner similar to Ivan the Terrible's Oprichnik, the Praetorians also served as a secret police force, engaging in espionage, intimidation, arrests and killings to protect the interests of the Roman emperor. *The Silk Road was one of the first highways to connect China with the western world. The city of Liqian, China has a population of blonde haired and white skinned people: believed to be decedents of Romans. **Seven hundred years before the first Taoist yin and yang symbol appeared, the same symbol showed up in a Roman book called the Notitia Dignitatum. The book lists Roman functionaries, including their titles and the insignia that mark their branches, one insignia in the book is identical to the Taoist yin yang symbol, which means that the yin and yang symbol might have originated in Rome. **In Japan Roman coins were found underneath a castle that was used as a major trading post for china. The coins were most likely brought their by Chinese traders who had been to Rome. *Romans frequently kidnapped the children of foreign nobles in order to influence them; allowing Roman to gain allies by brainwashing foreign dynasties. However this tactic led to one of Rome's greatest defeats. The Germanic barbarian Arminius was raised in Rome through this method, and so was assumed to be loyal to Rome. Instead, he led his Roman army into a Germanic ambush at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. **This same tactic was also used by the Ottomen empire, they would take young boys from Christian families and raise them to become members of the Ottomen Janissary and even serve as puppet rulers. However this tactic would come back to haunt the Ottomans as Vlad the Impaler was taught about warfare by the Turks and would later use his tactical skills against the Ottomans when they tried to invade Wallacia. *Rome allowed Cilician Pirates to commit crimes without government intervention until 75BCE. This was because these Pirates sold slaves to Roman politicians and nobles. **In 75BCE: Julius Caesar was captured by these pirates for a ransom. Caesar's behavior as a hostage was unorthodox, as he knew the pirates would not want to harm him in order to get the ransom. The pirates did not recognize Caesar, which made Caesar laugh. He continued to verbally harass the pirates, join them in exercises and games. He wrote speeches and poems, and scolded the pirates who ignored or disliked them. He even declared that their ransom requests were too low and that he was worth more than what they were asking. Caesar promised to arrest or kill the pirates if he was released: which is exactly what happened hours after the ransom was paid. *American architecture, especially in Washington DC, is heavily influenced by Roman culture. *Romans preferred their soldiers to be; tatooed or dog tagged, can swim, are tall and large, and were from a nationality known for warrior culture. *Saturnalia was a feast known for temporarily reversing the roles of slaves and masters. This holiday was between Dec 17-23 and was believed to have inspired Christmas feasts. *Julius Caesar's campaign in Gaul had an estimated 1 million Gauls die. *To maintain a strong front line; the front line Roman legionaries would fall back to the back lines to rotate the troops. This allowed exhausted soldiers to safely rest and to reduce both stress and the possibility of routing. *The concept of 7 being a lucky number was Roman. Romans thought that life was renewed every 7 years. *Contrary to popular belief; the Roman Army was not invincible. Rome suffered multiple defeats from skilled generals of the Carthaginians and Celts. Rome repeatedly struggled against Persian and Hunnic horse-archers (as Roman Legionaries were too slow to counter-attack cavalry that could maintain long-range distance). *According to the legend of King Romulus; Romulus expanded his citystate's population by tricking women from other kingdoms to visit Rome for a mass harvest, then allowing mass-rape to impregnate the women. *While Christianity grew primarily due to Roman influence; Armenia (in 301 AD) and Ethiopia are credited as the first Christian nations. *One of the reasons Rome was able to conquer a large territory was because of intentional religious mixing. Romans that politically ruled newer territories claimed that Roman polytheism was the same as the pagan polytheism; making the natives believe that Romans were related to them. *Legionaries, including volunteers, had a minimum and mandatory 25 years of service unless discharged. *The Roman Empire was estimated to have 20% of the world's population at it's peak. *Caesar admitted that the majority of his military victories were from 'kicking the enemy in its stomach': which is the tactic to restrict enemy logistics so that the enemy experiences famine and is thus unable to fight back. *The Roman Republic forbid the landless and homeless from enlisting in the army. However this made Rome vulnerable to peasant revolts. Gaius Marius reversed this policy as a result. *The Romans reappeared in Hannibal vs Genghis Khan episode as Hannibal invaded Rome before it expanded into an empire. Hannibal, despite being the enemy of Rome, was well celebrated by the Romans after his death for their defeat of a general with such skills. *The Centurions first appeared in the episode Gladiator/Apache, getting attacked by the gladiator's sling. Some slaves were forced into being Gladiators, so the reason this Gladiator was ambushing a Roman soldier was because he was most likely a slave involved in a slave revolt. *Roman Infantry had 5 social classes depending on the amount of land someone owed. This wealth would determine the minimal mandatory gear a soldier had to contribute when enlisted in the army. Class V were simply slingers, Class IV were light spear-men, Class III were standard infantry (with helmet, shield and Gladius), Class II required Greaves (leg armor), Class I were expected to wear full armor. *Some Roman tax collectors had enough political influence to use the Army to collect taxes from resistant civilians. *Roman Centurions were able to function independently from their commanders if the occasion called for it. The Battle of Cynoscephalae (197 BC) is an example of a tribune who broke off from his main army in order to outflank a Greek phalanx to win the battle. **The highest Roman generals avoided combat; knowing their leadership was tactically more relevant and important in a battle. While a general fighting with their warriors could maintain morale; the Romans ensured discipline by decimation and other severe punishments against disobeying soldiers. *The disunity of barbarian tribes made it common for many tribes to surrender to the Romans without fighting; like when the Remi surrendered to Caeser during the Gallic Wars. *Julius Caesar created the Julian Calendar; which would evolve into the modern Gregorian Calendar used by the majority of the world today. **Julius gave February only 28 days (and a leap day) because the cold February winter was seen as unlucky to Romans. **46 B.C. had an additional 90 days in order to transition from the Old Roman Calendar to the Julian Calendar: making it the only year recorded as 445 days long. *Roman Pater Familias (the oldest man in the household) had the legal right and authority to abandon his infants for any reason. While many abandoned infants died, it was expected for them to be adopted or transported to an orphanage. *The Centurions battle footage with the Rajput is the shortest in all seasons. *Near the end of the fight as the Centurion gets stabbed by the Rajput's Katar one can slightly see his makeup from after the Khanda strike. Making this a camera error or production error. Gallery Roman_1.jpg Roman_2.jpg Roman_3.jpg Roman_4.jpg Category:Warriors Category:Ancient Warriors Category:Ancient European Warriors Category:Defeated Warriors Category:Roman Warriors Category:Season 2